Sanskrit
क्रोधाद्भवति सम्मोहः सम्मोहात्स्मृतिविभ्रमः । स्मृतिभ्रंशाद्बुद्धिनाशो बुद्धिनाशात्प्रणश्यति ॥
krodhād bhavati sammohaḥ sammohāt smṛtivibhramaḥ smṛtibhraṃśād buddhināśo buddhināśāt praṇaśyati
Translation
From anger proceedeth delusion; from delusion confused memory; from confused memory the destruction of Reason; from destruction of Reason he perishes.
Annie Besant · The Bhagavad-Gita, translated by Annie Besant (4th ed., 1922) — Wikisource · Public Domain
Explanation
Verse 62’s chain reaches its conclusion: anger to delusion, delusion to lost memory, lost memory to the ruin of buddhi — the same discriminating faculty this whole chapter has been building up since verse 39 — and from there, ruin outright. The chain matters because it locates the point of no return not at the first sense-contact, which is unavoidable, but much further along, at attachment.
Lessons
Personal
- Notice when a decision is being made from a foggy, agitated state rather than a clear one — this verse's own chain suggests judgment degrades well before you'd expect to notice it degrading.
Professional
- Postpone consequential replies (emails, feedback, resignations) made while agitated — this verse's chain is effectively a description of why 'sleep on it' works.
Family & Social
- Confused memory of what was actually said or promised is often a symptom of anger having already taken hold during the conversation, not a sign the other person is lying — worth revisiting once both people are calmer.
Concepts